The above water shots were all with a cell phone and the majority of the underwater shots were done with a Sony ZV-1 in a SeaFrogs underwater housing and a few with an OM System TG-7. The SeaFrogs housing is as big as I’d want to handhold and we didn’t want to go to a rig with a handle, lights etc. The ZV-1 has a one-inch sensor which was nice. The only thing we missed was having a flash that would get us a faster shutter speed and better colors. We had a bunch of blurry photos from either creature movement or our own, especially when diving down and trying to hold still. You can add an external flash, but that starts down that slippery gear slope.

Yes, the brothers Deni and Roli and the crew do a fantastic job. As I mentioned it’s not a luxury cruise. So if you’re comfortable with those kinds of simple, cozy accommodations onboard you should have a great trip. I’d happily sail with them again.

Thanks Tom. Our liveaboard is for snorkelers only, so we’ll have a good visit to different areas, I’m sure.

I agree about being wary of being on a boat with divers. I didn’t used to feel that way, but this past year I’ve had two bad experiences in the Florida Keys (looking for sea creatures, not coral) with boats that cater to divers and completely ignore the needs of snorkelers though they’re happy to take your money and do nothing for you. The worst was one on Islamorada that had SNUBA people aboard; the snorkelers were so far away from everything that it was worthless. Wish I could go where you did!

I assume that your liveaboard starts/ends in Sorong. If you only have a couple of days you won’t really have time to go further out to the islands such as Fam, Rufas or Batanta. I wouldn’t recommend staying in Waisai itself if you’re looking for snorkeling. From Sorong you’ll need to take the public ferry to Waisai (lots of info on the StayRajaAmpat website linked to above) and get picked up from there and transported to another island.

I don’t have personal experience beyond the places we stayed on our trip and I don’t know what you’re looking for. I’d recommend finding a place with a good house reef and then other reef options a short boat ride away.

Places that are less than an hour boat ride from Waisai are: Kri which is the most developed island in the area. Just to the west the long skinny and much quieter island of Mansuar. I’ve read that the southern village, Sauwandarek has some good snorkeling. The south and southeast shore of Gam Island is another possibility with multiple homestay and dive resort options. It’s just to the north, across the channel, from Mansuar and Kri. The tiny twin islands of Friwen off the southeast corner of Gam has a couple of places to stay and appears to have some nice reef options.

…and a possible idea… depending on your liveaboard’s route you could have them drop you off at another homestay or dive resort, your last day, on your way back to Sorong. You new accommodation could then get you back to Waisai for the ferry to Sorong.